House Panel Frustrated With Stewart

Washington Post ^ | 9/5/02 | Marcy Gordon

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

A House committee investigating Martha Stewart's sale of stock in biotech company ImClone has "reached the end of the road" in trying to get her cooperation and may take legal action, a spokesman said Thursday.

Possible courses of action include a referral to the Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution, said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

After discussions with lawyers for the domestic design tycoon in recent weeks, "We have reached the end of the road with respect to Martha Stewart," Johnson said.

He also said that phone records obtained by the committee appear to contradict statements by former ImClone president and Stewart friend Sam Waksal that he did not speak to her or her agents between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, as well as Stewart's assertion that Waksal did not return a call she made to him during that period... CLICK

[Pern]

Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., my Rep.

Get her, Billy!!

[Cicero]

Wouldn't you think congress had better things to do than waste their time hounding someone like this just because she has a famous name? If she's guilty of insider trading, take her to court in the usual way.

I don't especially like Martha Stewart, but this is ridiculous.

[Texas Eagle]

Dear Idiot Republican Chairman, Drop it! This is a no-win situation for you. Martha Stewart will eat your lunch and pop the bag.

For the love of Pete, who is advising you guys? Bill Simon?

[goodnesswins]

I agree with you.....unless she'll provide names of other insider (liberals) in order to plea bargain her way out - she's just the one who got caught, but I betcha she knows a whole lot more......(a couple of clintoons come to mind.)

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Why are the Leftists sacrificing her?

[gov_bean_ counter]

I still want to know if it is SOP to notify the drug manufacturer/developer of the decision before it is made public. If so, it is a poor business pratice. If not, then someone at FDA leaked. If they have done it once then they have probably done it several times.

Just think of the bucks to be made if you know ahead of time that a cutting edge drug is about to be approved.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

I'd like someone to make a case for the FDA's existance.

[goodnesswins]

To prove they go after their own????? My thought...otherwise they know we'll really go after them on McAuliffe....yeah, right.

[what's up]

No, no! She's vital to the cause. In the midst of the anti-Corporate bashing which the Dems stirred up in order to win brownie point agains the Repubs, some smart Repub came up with Martha Stewart as a scapegoat.

She's a Dem AND she's a household name! Bingo! The Dems have backed off. Every household in America knows that Martha Stewart tried to cheat and we get the political brownie points because of her party affiliation.

Brilliant.

[harpo11]

Exactly right thinking. I've been wondering much the same and how many senators and representatives, aides, staff et al., are in the loop of this sort of info on any company being awarded contracts.

Certainly makes sense that many of these characters are gleefully and successfully paving the road to riches as not all of them came to Washington wealthy as they are today.

Great benefits, perks plus perhaps insider information.

[SJackson]

Wouldn't you think congress had better things to do than waste their time hounding someone like this just because she has a famous name? If she's guilty of insider trading, take her to court in the usual way.

Yes, they've milked it for all it's worth and then some. She was worth, at most, 15 minutes of the committees time. A referral to Justice is appropriate, and overdue.

[upchuck]

Compared to what some of the others did, MS is a drop in the bucket. I want them to go after Lay, Ebbers, Winnick, Skilling, Rubin, Grubman, et.al. They are the ones who really hurt a bunch of folks through layoffs, destroyed 401(k) value, etc. They are the ones that need to be doing hard time. They are the ones that need to be made an example of.

MS hurt herself and a relatively few stockholders of MSO. These other guys hurt millions of folks. Let's go after them with same zeal as used on MS.

[Cicero]

I don't know if the Republicans in congress have that much sense. Of course you're right in a general way. This never would have happened to her if the liberal press hadn't tried to pin Enron on Bush, with the biggest concerted attack on a sitting president since Watergate.

Of course, the Dems may be happy to hound Martha Stewart too, because that takes the spotlight off Rubin, McAuliffe, Global Crossing, et al.

Martha Stewart helped fundraise for clinton. But the Dems never hesitate to throw their own to the wolves if it suits their convenience.

[jackbill]

If she's guilty of insider trading, take her to court in the usual way.

No way, no how can she be guilty of "insider trading" - on her Imclone stock. She in no way meets the SEC definition of an "insider". No way, no how.

Others at Imclone can be found guilty, even for spreading the word to small shareholders like Stewart, but not her. By all definitions, she is an "outsider".

As for her selling of shares of her own company - which the Congress doesn't seem to want to confront - she is definitely an insider. That's a whole nother game.

[Huck]

I agree with you. I still want to know what's up with Kenny Boy? If he is such a bad man, and if his violations are so egregious and well known, then where the hell is he and what the hell is he doing? Should he be in the pokey? What gives?

[DAnconia55]

Go Martha!!!

Tell them to shove it up their arses in Live hearings. Make my day for me !!

I'd do it, if I was there...

[DAnconia55]

Why are the Leftists sacrificing her?

She stands for American Homemaking. Perhaps the preeminent symbol of it..

The better question is why are conservatives, who are supposed to believe in capitalism (they don't of course, just another lie...situational ethics rules both sides.) trashing her....

[LilithUnfair]

I have GOT to get to K Mart.

[chnsmok]

Lie well, lie often. Maybe this should the motto of our country now. Seems to work. THEY WERE INVESTIGATING HER SEX LIFE! That works too. LOL